Q&A with Margot Bisnow: Raising Your Kids to be Successful

It’s natural to want to know the secrets of successful people, like their strategies for generating new ideas or exactly how they make so much darn money. Feeling a similar tug of curiosity, Margot Bisnow has interviewed 60 mothers and their entrepreneurial sons and daughters, compiling her findings in her new book: Raising an Entrepreneur: 10 Rules for Nurturing Risk Takers, Problem Solvers, and Change Makers.

My son, Elliott Bisnow, started Summit Series eight years ago, which is basically a series of conferences for young entrepreneurs. I would go to a lot of them and met some really amazing people, and was really curious as to how they turned out so determined and tenacious. They all pretty much gave me the same answer: I had a mom who believed I could do anything, which really gave me confidence. I couldn’t believe it, that these successful young individuals all had mothers who unconditionally supported them. My own kids actually convinced me to write a book on my findings!

What was the research process?

I decided I would interview these moms and kind of look at how their kids were raised. I was sort of ambivalent when I started, but the more I got into it, the more excited I became! I purposefully chose a very diverse group of people for the book; there are people of every religion, race, social status and background you can think of, but I did equally half men and half women.

What did you learn from your findings?

I learned that all these people were raised by a parent who believed in them growing up. Every parent loves their child and wants them to be successful, but most parents are afraid to let their child do the things that truly make their heart sing for fear of failing later in life. These moms that I interviewed were willing to do everything to support their kids, and let their children do any hobby or sport that they wanted to try. These days, there are kids coming out of college having majored in something they’re not really interested in. Their parents pay a small fortune, but they often can’t get a job. These kids are studying things they’re not passionate about, so there’s no motivation there. However, there is another option: have a passion, follow it and see where it takes you!

In your opinion, what is the most important of the 10 rules for nurturing these future entrepreneurs?

Trust your child’s passion and encourage their exploration. Most of the entrepreneurs that I talked to had a passion when they were younger, and from that they learned grit, focus and determination. I learned that sometimes these passions translated directly into a career, and sometimes that passion ended. In that case, they just switched interests and put energy into something else. Nonetheless, they had learned tenacity and how to be motivated.